The paper seeks to propose theoretical scenarios for sachet water waste collections, the most prominent plastic waste in ghana. This paper analyses the impact of plastic use and disposal in. Due to dysfunctional municipal waste management services, residents in urban areas in ghana regularly burn plastic waste in the open, releasing highly toxic substances such as dioxins and furans into the environment. Waste management in tema ghana introduction tema is a coastal city, situated about 25km east of accra, it has a land area of 368.
This study has also shown that waste plastic modified bitumen carries great promise as an alternative recycling method for plastic waste management in ghana, as well as a nontraditional, modified binder for road construction. To move higher up the sanitation ladder, ghana would have to process most of the. Since the 1960s our use of plastic has increased dramatically, and subsequently, the portion of our garbage that is made up of plastic has also increased from 1% of the total municipal solid waste stream household garbage to approximately % us environmental protection agency. Generation of plastic waste and management in ghana over the last few decades, there has been a steady increase in the use of plastic products resulting in a proportionate rise in plastic waste in solid waste streams in large cities in subsahara africa 4,1012.
In ghana, per capita generation of plastic waste stands at 0. Finding the best waste management companies in ghana is something that you must do. The plastic waste dumped in the streets find their way in blocking drains, which can cause flooding and other plastic waste makes into the water bodies with unsightly tangles of plastic waste. Like it is in most cities in the world, cities in ghana specifically accra, solid and liquid waste collection is inadequate and therefore hardly meets the demands of residents. Management of waste in ghana proper ways of waste management is explained using the waste management hierarchy. Theoretical framework for plastic waste management in. Increased population growth and rapid urbanisation have resulted in increased generation of volumes of waste in our cities. Ministry of health health care waste management in. Economic development and changes in consumer habits are producing increasingly complex waste streams in ghana that include a significant amount of plastic waste. This severe problem exists because the vast majority in ghana is lacking awareness about the dramatic negative effects of plastic pollution. Absence of a national policy and guidelines and standard operating procedures ii. In 2014, 12,000 tons of waste was generated daily by lagos citizens, 15% of which was plastic. The waste management department is responsible for the provision of facilities, infrastructure services and programmes for effective and efficient waste management for the improvement in environmental sanitation, the protection of the environment and the promotion of public health. Plastic waste management in ghana a complete failure and.
The most common methods of solid waste disposal in ghana are through the combustion and land filling. Future projections show that by 2025 daily solid waste generation in accra alone will reach 4,000 tons. The inability of the bolgatanga municipal assembly and zoomlion ghana limited a private waste management firm to tackle the. While waste management is a nationwide issue in ghana, its most obvious in accra, a fastgrowing city of four million that generates about 3,000 metric tonnes of waste. The journey towards sustainable waste management may be a long one but what the country needs now are gigantic leaps not small steps. Waste management guide g314 fahzy abdulrahman1 cooperative extension service college of agricultural, consumer and environmental sciences introduction this publication provides an overview of the reasons and ways to better manage garbage or other household waste. Plastic waste management in ghana a complete failure and the consequences. Municipal solid waste management in accra, ghana, is at present delivered in an unsustainable manner. Use of waste plastic materials for road construction in ghana. The issue of plastic waste has taken a global dimension that calls for collaboration of all countries towards adopting innovative ways of replacing the use of plastics. In view of the ineffective waste disposal structures, the lack of overall strategies and insufficient environmental awareness.
The nonbiodegradable nature of the plastic waste, burying them in the. Pdf theoretical framework for plastic waste management. Household perspective of plastic waste management in. Plastic bags waste management using the knapsack model, case study. Sustainable management of plastic waste in ghana ghana. The first phase of the project focused on the improvement of municipal waste management in the city of kumasi in ghana. This generates opportunities for dutch suppliers of waste management technology, services and higher value circular business models in waste plastics. The dilemmas of plastic wastes in a developing economy.
This could be because of the increasing use of plastic products in packaging. Plastic wastes and its management bioenergy consult. The initial research design and implementation of the accra mci waste. Learn more about these companies, their locations in ghana and how they help in this. Solid waste management challenges in urban areas of ghana. Abstract plastic waste is a big issue in ghana, but the amount of recycled plastic in ghana is still low due to the high investment and operating cost. Plastic waste was the second largest fraction in terms of weight. Despite ghana drowning in plastic trash, the government has announced it wont be banning plastics because people in ghana actually use plastics. Britain to support plastic waste management in ghana. These bags now constitute a major proportion of the plastic waste generated throughout the urban areas in ghana wienaah, 2007. The ghana plastic manufacturers association did a lot on its own to conduct a research into the technology and has submitted a. General waste management in ghana is the responsibility of the ministry of local.
Plastic bags waste management using the knapsack model. To investigate the actual situation of plastic waste management. The magnitude of this problem has led to increasing pressure from the public for efficient and practical measures to solve the waste problem. Currently, use and disposal of plastic by consumers through waste management activities in ghana not only creates environmental problems, but also reinforces the notion of a wasteful society. Attitudes towards plastic waste management in the ga east. In order to set up sustainable change processes, the participation and broad support of relevant stakeholders and decision makers on site were initially ensured within the framework of a project preparation mission. Plastic waste management has assumed great significance in view of the urbanisation activities. Further studies should be done to investigate long term performance of field test sections with pmb so as to evaluate. Some significant challenges still exist from both technological factors and from economic or social behaviour issues relating to the collection of recyclable. Pdf plastic waste management in ghana researchgate. Open burning of residential trash with high plastic content is a major source of air pollution in many developing countries. While regulatory authority is vested in the environmental protection agency epa, general solid waste management in ghana is the responsibility of the ministry of. Ghana, the worlds fastest growing economy, has a trash.
To investigate the actual situation of plastic waste management in sekonditakoradi metropolis. Plastics are choking the worlds oceans, shorelines, and rivers. The paper discusses the experiences, challenges and prospects of plastic waste management schemes in ghana and proposes a new model of fractional levy and. The plastic waste generated throughout the ghana brings to the table how to effectively. Many urban areas in ghana are heavily polluted with plastic waste and the bolgatanga municipality is not an exception. The british high commissioner to ghana, mr iain walker has expressed the united kingdoms readiness to help ghana address the plastic waste menace.
In view of the ineffective waste disposal structures, the lack of overall strategies and insufficient environmental awareness, it is. Electronic waste management in ghana issues and practices 153 however, larry summers, a former economist of the world bank in 1991, reportedly justifies the economic sense of the exportation of e waste to developing countries. Because of this inbuilt molecular stability, plastics do not easily break down into simpler components. All these acts and regulations emanate from the national. Essaw, richard gyimah sasu institute for development studies, university of cape coast, cape coast, ghana abstract the management of plastic waste has been a major environmental problem across countries. Ghanas contribution to plastic waste can be reduced with. A case study of bawku municipality nang biyogue douti1, samuel kojo abanyie1, steve ampofo1, senyo komla nyarko2 1faculty of applied sciences, university for development studies, department of earth and environmental sciences, navrongo campus, navrongo, ghana. Due to uncontrolled urbanisation, large quantities of waste are generated daily in accra, and. Ghana 1999, the guidelines for the development and management of landfills in ghana, and the guidelines for biomedical waste 2000. It is a nationally and internationally accepted guide for prioritizing waste management practices with the objective of achieving.
In e waste, the agbogbloshie e waste dump and similar others is a scar on the environmental score sheet of ghana. Pdf household perspective of plastic waste management in. Although accra provides full waste collection services in parts of the city, waste. The high organic waste in ghana s waste stream could be due to her high dependency on agricultural products. Municipal solid waste characterization and quantification. A survey carried out in 2001 to assess health care waste management in health facilities in ghana showed that waste management practices were below acceptable standards and posed risk to staff and communities. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis in the discussions of the research data. Ghana is also now ranked the seventh mostdirty country in the world and this has affected efforts aimed at making this country the preferred tourist. Attitudes towards plastic waste management in the ga east municipality of ghana david w. Food waste formed the major subfraction of the organic waste analyzed followed by yard waste. Waste management options in ghana, future strategy imani. As such, disposal of waste is on poorly maintained landfills, which then become. Various strategies are being devised to mitigate the impact of plastic waste in india. Solid waste management in accra accra, the capital of ghana, has over 2 million inhabitants, more than one.
Electronic waste management in ghana issues and practices. Waste management has become one of the biggest challenges confronting developing countries, including ghana. In the case of plastic waste disposal, burning of the plastic waste does not only get rid of it but produces carbon dioxide which is the major contributor of global warming. The overburdened lagos municipality collected only about 40% of this total generated waste. Furthermore, the lack of infrastructure prevents people to engage in proper waste management. Its most populous city, lagos, nigeria, is projected to grow to 32. Around onethird of the plastics produced worldwide are used for packaging. To identify and propose a more sustainable plastic waste recovery strategy in ghana. An analysis of the plastic waste collection and wealth. Statistics released by the accra metropolitan assembly ama waste management department and other waste management bodies indicated that about 9000 tonnes of waste is. The overall objectives of this paper have been grouped into two folds. Solid waste management in accra municipal solid waste.
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